Book Description from Back Cover:
Acclaimed travel writer Weiner sets out to examine the connection between our surroundings and our most innovative ideas. He explores the history of places, like Vienna of 1900, Renaissance Florence, ancient Athens, Song Dynasty Hangzhou, and Silicon Valley, to show how certain urban settings are conducive to ingenuity. And, with his trademark insightful humor, he walks the same paths as the geniuses who flourished in these settings to see if the spirit of what inspired figures like Socrates, Michelangelo, and Leonardo remains.

My Review:The Geography of Genius is a travelogue. The author described his experiences as he visited seven cities. He visited historic sites and mused over coffee, tea, or alcohol about why these places had a cultural Golden Age. It's not actually about geography, but places, and the similarities these places had at the time of their golden ages.

We also get brief biographies of several of the geniuses that the author admires and details about what the city was like at the time of their golden age. His definition of "genius" varied throughout the book, but it primarily referred to talented people with lasting name recognition whose actions had an enduring impact on society. He mainly focused on philosophy, painting, and music, though science and technology get a nod.

The author visited Athens, Greece (to explore the time of Plato, Socrates, etc.); Hangzhou, China (969-1276 AD); Florence, Italy (for the Renaissance); Edinburgh, Scotland (for the Scottish Enlightenment in the second half of the 18th century); Calcutta, India (1840-1920s for the Bengal Renaissance); Vienna, Austria (for music in the 1800s and psychology in 1900-1914); and Silicon Valley in USA. The author had a lighthearted, entertaining approach which made the book an enjoyable read.

If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

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About Me

My name is Debbie. I'm a single female in my thirties. I have three book review blogs: one for well-written, clean fiction; one for nonfiction (memoirs, history, military, religion, and social issues); and a book club for Christian nonfiction.

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About this blog

I mainly review first-person accounts (memoirs, diaries, biographies, etc.) about other cultures, books that bring social issues to public attention, and books about what life was like in other time periods. I also review military, religion, technology, and general history books.

Disclosure StatementI'm not paid to review books. I do receive free review copies from publishers, authors, etc., but I also review books I've bought or checked out of the library. I review all books by the same standard, no matter the source. Why? Because my readers are assuming I am. :)